The Goblin Swarm (2)
This battlefield was where Junil likely knew the most about goblin swarm phenomena. Perhaps more than anyone across the entire dimension.
After all, how many people had lived as a hero seven times? The goblin swarm phenomenon had appeared in five of those seven hero runs. The worst by far was the first cycle, when he knew nothing.
Back then, one member of the hero party and an entire company of soldiers had been wiped out. Every single one of them had been seasoned knights who could handle mana, yet they still met that fate.
If it hadn't been for Meyrin, the mage capable of wide-area fire support, the hero party would probably have suffered the same end.
A mage. Yes, a mage was what they needed.
‘There are magic classes here too.’
They were present, but it wasn't enough. Their casts kept failing.
Tick······! Tick!
Only the sound of a lighter running out of gas echoed, with no magic firing.
“Ah, no! It won't come out! What's going on!?”
“Ugh, ughhhhh······!”
The mages despaired.
‘They're panicking.’
Mages were overly mental beings, heavily influenced by their state of mind. Even the slightest anxiety could disrupt their spells. That was why, during his hero days, mages had always been positioned in the innermost formation with the highest level of protection.
But now? They were completely exposed.
Relying on those mages was clearly not an option.
‘Do I have to do this alone?’
If so, Junil would have to handle it by himself. He checked his current strength.
Current Viewing Constellations: 413
Succession of the Incarnation 'Hero - Julian': 4.33% in progress
The wall of the 400s had been broken. As the goblin swarm occurred and Constellations gathered at the scene, a natural influx had begun.
What had been designed as misfortune for Junil had instead become luck.
“Jackpot.”
Junil muttered the word without realizing it.
The Constellations were taken aback.
At the same time, they began to anticipate. Could he overcome this situation?
Yet many Constellations remained doubtful.
It was understandable.
‘It's been a while since I showed my skills.’
The Constellations who had arrived since morning had never seen Junil's abilities. All they had witnessed was him whining about being F-rank and finding poop in the bathroom.
It was time to show them something.
Junil prepared to get to work in earnest.
‘Inventory.’
Shwoong.
A black sphere materialized around him. He reached inside and pulled out a black mask.
Clack!
Junil put on the mask and practiced his stance once.
While the Constellations were briefly distracted by his pose, Junil quickly muttered inwardly.
‘Shop.’
Ding.
‘Since I have it, might as well use it.’
He purchased a BGM track from the shop.
Jingle.
[Cool BGM]
He didn't know how cool the BGM would be, but since he had the funds, he decided to try it.
Doong, doong, doong······
A rather impressive bass line kicked in, layered with a sophisticated guitar.
‘Oh. I like this.’
After finishing his stretches by cracking his neck, Junil focused mana into his lower body.
And then—
‘Let's go.’
Thud!
He kicked off in sync with the drumbeat.
Even an ordinary scene looked impressive with cool BGM backing it.
Click—
He drew the cutter knife blade and swung it at full speed as he charged.
“Kkiiiaaak!?”
Chwaaaaaak!
The goblins had their heads severed before they even realized what happened. Three or four of them at once.
Not only the goblins, but the nearby Awakened were also shocked.
“U-ugh!? What the!?”
“Sh-shit, w-who are you!?”
At the question, Junil turned his head. The Awakened stared in surprise at the mask.
“C-could it be······”
Junil didn't bother speaking. He simply tapped his mask with the cutter knife.
Tok tok.
A gesture confirming their guess was correct.
“S······ Sagosul!”
“The 4th Line Goblin Slayer!?”
Thud, thud, thud!
Right on cue, the drums and bass filled the surroundings with a powerful rhythm.
“S-Sagosul! Holy shit! We're saved!”
The news that Sagosul had arrived spread in an instant.
“······S-Sagosul?”
“The 4th Line Goblin Slayer. He's practically evaluated as having the highest combat power right now.”
“That's the mask?”
“Yeah. Didn't you see the article?”
“B-but what can he do coming alone? There are way too many of them right now.”
Even the Awakened's murmurs blended into the BGM.
Thud!
Junil kicked off and plunged into the goblin horde.
“M-madman! He's just charging in there?”
“Whoa······”
“I-isn't that suicide?”
Chwaaaaaak!
Red blood gushed along his path as goblin heads flew.
“Kkiaaaaaaaaak!”
“Kkiaaak!”
Goblins surrounded him from all sides. No matter how strong someone was, being surrounded and attacked usually left them helpless.
But Junil was different.
‘Next here, then here.’
Chwaak!
The next goblin, and the one after that. Their necks flew, spraying red blood fountains.
He knew the goblins' habits all too well. He swung his cutter knife as if he could see one second into the future.
He was literally a goblin-slaying ghost. A man possessed.
Ziiiiing!
Right on time, the guitar let out a wailing sound, creating a thrilling rhythm.
The Constellations were in a frenzy.
Thud!
As the music approached its climax, Junil shouted behind him.
“What are the magic classes doing! Fire already!”
“······U-us!?”
No matter how much of Julian's power Junil had inherited or how many battle experiences he possessed, some things were simply impossible.
‘I can't do it alone.’
Wide-area fire support was absolutely necessary to finish this. That was the nature of a goblin swarm.
There were simply too many to kill one by one.
“W-we couldn't cast earlier······”
He already knew. He'd seen it earlier.
‘That's why I'm going all out.’
This was why Junil had charged into the goblin horde and drawn aggro so aggressively. It was to show them.
That a strong one was holding the front line.
“Try again. It'll work this time.”
“Huh······?”
“I said it'll work now!”
They had no idea what his basis was. Yet somehow, they felt trust.
“Wind-type magic and fire-type magic together.”
Point!
He precisely indicated the person with wind-type magic skills and the one with fire-type magic skills.
‘How······’
‘What? He knows?’
Of course, because he'd watched them fight from behind the rock earlier. But to those being pointed at, it felt different.
‘A-as expected of Sagosul.’
‘If I follow what he says, I'll live.’
They closed their eyes and concentrated on casting again.
Wooong!
Magnificent magic circles embroidered the air.
“I-it worked!”
Fwoooosh!
A massive fireball was summoned.
“Me too!”
Whiiiiing!
A blade-like wind compressed, emitting a menacing sound.
Now they just had to fire.
“Now!”
Junil shouted and briefly closed his eyes, focusing his senses.
Woo wooong!
He scattered his own mana into the air.
“Firing!”
Shwoong—
Wind and fire danced together as they flew forward. The fireballs greedily devoured the scattered mana, growing even larger, while the wind grew sharper.
When they struck the goblin horde, grinding across the rocky ground—
——Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa!
Dozens of goblins were swept away in an instant.
“This can't be.”
“T-this······ this actually worked?”
The mages were shocked even though they had cast it themselves. Magic casting was heavily influenced by mental state; in extreme anxiety, proper casting was impossible.
Conversely, when the mind was stable?
The effect increased even more.
They instinctively realized.
‘It's thanks to Sagosul.’
‘That person······’
Sagosul holding the front line. His overwhelming combat power and confident orders.
“Melee classes and tanks, stick right in front of the mages.”
“Y-yes!”
His presence was enhancing the mages' magic. Because he had not a single doubt. He was certain he could control this situation.
This was not arrogance or bravado. It was something as natural and practiced as breathing in and out. It seeped directly into his voice.
“Cast again!”
“Yes!”
Woo woo wooong!
Magic casting began.
“Grrrrrr!”
The swarm goblins charged at Junil on all fours.
‘Here.’
Chwaaak!
Junil bisected four of them in one strike. Yet the goblins, consumed by madness, charged even harder.
“Kwaaaak!”
“Keng!”
Junil instead took one more step forward.
‘This way.’
Chwaaaaaak!
Three or four more goblins fell in one strike.
“Fire!”
“Firing!”
Kwa kwa kwa kwaang!!
Once again, the cast magic was launched toward the goblin horde. Flames riding the wind savagely tore through the goblins.
The mountainside, once covered in green, turned red.
A moment later—
[Playback Ended]
The music's climax passed, and Junil ended the playback.
Not a single living goblin remained before him.
Drip······ Drip······
Only countless streams of blood flowed down the mountainside, thick and red.
The reactions of the Constellations and the Awakened weren't much different.
“······M-mad. It's over, we won.”
“Unbelievable.”
“Sagosul is a god······”
The only difference was that the Awakened had collapsed, their legs giving out.
‘Understandable.’
They only had stat-enhanced bodies and a few skills. Their minds were no different from ordinary modern people. No matter how strong their bodies were, they had no choice but to be completely exhausted.
It was their first battle under the pressure of possible death, and the difficulty had been extreme.
But the reward was sweet.
Wooong!
“I-I leveled up! Two levels, holy shit!”
“Me too!”
“Level 10! Achieved! We're alive!”
Their levels had risen tremendously.
Then what about Junil, who had commanded this battlefield and turned the tide?
How much experience had he gained?
Experience: 37%
Only 37% experience.
‘Damn······’
This kind of discrimination was too much. It felt almost cruel. But then—
Jingle!
Suddenly, an effect sound played along with a message.
An anonymous Constellation has sponsored 15 Feelings (FL)!
An anonymous Constellation has sponsored 10 Feelings (FL)!
An anonymous Constellation has sponsored 20 Feelings (FL)!
‘Huh?’
It wasn't even a hidden mission, yet now the sponsorship logs were visible.
‘Coin sponsorship?’
The previous sponsorships had been called big shots or whatever. This was cheap sponsorship?
Apparently, sponsorships that had real impact like items or experience were expensive, but this wasn't.
‘But I can use it, right?’
Story coins were originally useless to characters. But Junil was different. If good items appeared in the shop later, he could buy them.
‘Right now there's only BGM, but it said I could upgrade······’
And that wasn't all. The number of Constellations had also increased quite a bit from the recent battle.
‘Oh. 500.’
Current Viewing Constellations: 501
Succession of the Incarnation 'Hero - Julian': 5.01% in progress
The succession of Julian's power had exceeded 5%.
Successfully inherited a portion of the Incarnation 'Hero - Julian's memories!
Then a new power awakened.